EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — A week ago, Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer lashed out at his players for being sloppy and undisciplined in a 17-3 home loss to the Detroit Lions.

After a day to cool off, he just called it, “Zimmer being Zimmer.”

On Monday, the Vikings’ coach was nursing yet another loss following a 17-16 defeat at Buffalo. But this time Zimmer was much more upbeat despite a defensive collapse that allowed the Bills to convert on fourth-and-20, third-and-12 and second-and-20 en route to Kyle Orton’s winning 2-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins with one second left.

“Last week, I was upset about the way that we did things,” said Zimmer, whose Vikings will take a 2-5 record to Tampa Bay, where they’ll face Zimmer’s predecessor, Leslie Frazier, who is the Buccaneers’ defensive coordinator.

“This week, I was more frustrated because I felt like we had the opportunity to win and we didn’t do the crucial things at the end of the ballgame to win. There were some good things that happened in the ballgame, like most games. We’ve got to just eliminate these things that are allowing us not to win. ‘Frustrated’ is the best word for this week, I would guess.”

The Vikings had four takeaways, including strong safety Robert Blanton’s first career interception. They had six sacks, including two on the Bills’ winning drive and three by right end Everson Griffen. And the offense bounced back from interceptions on back-to-back throws by Teddy Bridgewater to run for 158 yards and a 5.4-yard average against the league’s No. 1 run defense.

But the ghosts from the 5-10-1 2013 season returned in the fourth quarter. It started when the offense settled for a field goal, despite having first-and-goal at the 7. And it ended with a vintage 2013-esque defensive collapse.

“We had situations that we could have handled better,” Zimmer said. “I talked to the defense this morning about the last drive. We did some great things, even during that drive. But we reverted back to some of the things that allow us not to win.

“We rushed the quarterback all day great. In the right places, did things correctly and then, for some reason, we do something different in the crucial part of the game. We allow him to get out, he hits the ball down to the sideline (to the 2-yard line). Frustrating.”

NOTES: C John Sullivan left the game with 3:49 left in the first quarter with a concussion. He’ll have to follow league protocol and pass his concussion tests before being allowed to return to practice. … RG Vladimir Ducasse (knee) left the game on the same play on which Sullivan was hurt. He was scheduled to have an MRI on Monday. … LB Chad Greenway, who had missed the past three games because of a broken hand and broken ribs, played 65 of 70 defensive snaps and had a game-high 15 tackles and a forced fumble.

REPORT CARD VS. BILLS

–PASSING OFFENSE: D — QB Teddy Bridgewater was sacked five times and threw interceptions on back-to-back passes, the second of which led to a one-play touchdown drive for the Bills. Bridgewater did throw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Cordarrelle Patterson. It was Bridgewater’s first NFL touchdown pass, not to mention the first touchdown pass by the Vikings since the opening drive of Week 2. However, Bridgewater also struggled through a second half that saw him complete four passes while being sacked three times. Back-to-back sacks allowed by tackles Matt Kalil and Phil Loadholt ruined a first-and-goal situation and forced the Vikings to settle for a field goal early in the fourth quarter.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: A — The Vikings ran for 158 yards on 29 carries, which was a 5.4-yard average against the league’s top-ranked run defense. And they did it while having to play about 49 minutes without center John Sullivan (concussion) and right guard Vladimir Ducasse (knee), who left the game on the same play late in the first quarter. Rookie Jerick McKinnon had 103 yards on 19 carries, including a 29-yarder in which he broke two tackles. Fullback Jerome Felton had his first carries since 2011, not counting his Pro Bowl appearance. His first carry went 21 yards. Until that point, the Bills hadn’t allowed a run of more than 16 yards all season.

–PASS DEFENSE: C — For most of the first 57 minutes, the Vikings deserved an A. For most of the Bills’ three-minute, game-winning drive, the Vikings deserved an F. Overall, the Vikings had six sacks, three of which came from right end Everson Griffen, and strong safety Robert Blanton’s first career interception. Linebackers Anthony Barr and Chad Greenway also forced receivers to fumble the ball after catches. During the winning drive, the Vikings actually had two sacks in a three-play stretch. But the pass defense allowed Buffalo to convert on fourth-and-20, third-and-12 and second-and-20. Bills receiver Sammy Watkins took turns beating the Vikings’ top three corners. He blew past Captain Munnerlyn for a 26-yard touchdown. He was too quick for No. 3 corner Josh Robinson on an 18-yard grab on third-and-12 on the final drive. And he beat Xavier Rhodes for the 2-yard touchdown with one second left.

–RUSH DEFENSE: B — The Vikings lost gap control only one time in glaring fashion and it resulted in C.J. Spiller getting around the left side of the offense for a 53-yard run. The Bills’ 18 other carries went for a total of 65 yards. The Bills lost Spiller and Fred Jackson (groin) to first-half injuries and were stuck with only Anthony Dixon, who had 51 yards on 13 carries (3.9). Only two of Buffalo’s runs were longer than 11 yards.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: B — Blair Walsh went 3 for 3 on field goal attempts, including a 55-yarder, which tied the second-longest make of his career. He also had three more touchbacks, but did have one of his kickoffs returned 30 yards. Punt returner Marcus Sherels averaged 11.5 yards on two returns, but also made a mistake by fair-catching a punt at his 6-yard line. Patterson averaged 20 yards on two kickoff returns. He took the opening kickoff and was dropped at the Vikings’ 9-yard line. Punter Jeff Locke improved over last week’s disappointing performance with a 47.3-yard average and a 41.0 net.

–COACHING: C-plus — The Vikings did so many good things that got overlooked because of the defensive meltdowns on the Bills’ 80-yard, game-winning drive at the end. The defense played with energy, quickness and an edge until the closing minutes. The offense lowered its pad levels and ran with some strength. But it’s hard to boost this grade higher than this when fourth-quarter breakdowns kept the offense from scoring despite having first-and-goal at the 7 and the defense from getting off the field at the end.